Police arrested a 44-year-old man as the family returned home to recover.
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — A 13-year-old boy visiting Daytona Beach for Daytona 500 weekend survived after a man he did not know cut his neck near the boardwalk late Saturday night, his parents said. Doctors told the family the wound missed a major artery by about a millimeter.
The attack, described by police and the boy’s family as sudden and unprovoked, turned a holiday weekend outing into an emergency trip to the hospital. The suspect, 44-year-old Jermaine Long, was arrested a short time later and booked on a felony charge of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon. The case has also drawn fresh attention to safety concerns along the boardwalk area, where city and police officials have been discussing expanded patrols ahead of the spring tourist season.
The boy, Sullivan Clarke, was walking with his parents along Ocean Avenue near the boardwalk around 10 p.m. on Valentine’s Day, after spending the day in town for race events, his family said. Lori Clarke said she noticed a man approaching her son and, for a split second, assumed he was trying to grab the boy’s phone. “I thought, oh, he’s stealing his phone,” she said. Then she saw the motion again and realized it was not a theft. “It was absolutely horrifying,” she said, adding that it all happened so quickly the family barely had time to react.
Jerod Clarke said the injury looked far worse than they first understood in the moment. “I saw my son’s neck totally gashed open,” he said, describing a deep cut that required stitches. The teen was taken for treatment and received 13 stitches, his parents said. Jerod Clarke said doctors told them the blade came within about a millimeter of a major artery, a difference he believes saved his son’s life. Sullivan Clarke said he thinks a small movement made the difference. He said he glanced up at a boardwalk ride at the exact moment he was struck, shifting his neck so the cut landed to the side rather than in a more dangerous spot.
Daytona Beach police said officers were dispatched after a caller reported that someone had slashed a person’s throat with an edged weapon. Police said the attack happened about 10:05 p.m. on South Atlantic Avenue, just south of Main Street, and that the child suffered a severe neck laceration. The victim was taken to Halifax Health Medical Center, police said, though the department did not immediately release the child’s condition in its initial public information. An arrest affidavit said investigators interviewed witnesses and that the victim’s mother wanted to press charges, police said.
Police said they located Long near an overpass on the pier area next to Joe’s Crab Shack and took him into custody. Investigators said Long declined to answer questions during a police interview and invoked his right to an attorney. He was booked on aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, authorities said. Jail records and broadcast reports about his custody status differed early in the case, but he remained in custody as of Tuesday morning while the charge moved forward in the court system.
After the arrest, the Clarke family said they learned Long is a registered sex offender and has a criminal history that includes prior cases involving drugs and battery. Jerod Clarke said he wants the suspect held in jail while the case proceeds. “I want him locked up,” he said, adding that he fears the man could hurt someone else if released. Police and court records in Volusia County show Long has been charged in multiple prior cases, including failure to properly register as a sex offender, according to information released in separate reporting on his history.
Those records also include a recent case in which Long was accused of threatening people with a long wooden pole and a bladed weapon during a confrontation in the same general beachside corridor earlier this year. In that earlier incident, a deputy reported seeing Long with a pole and witnesses described him with a knife, according to an incident summary cited in local reporting. Prosecutors later filed paperwork indicating they would not continue pursuing the earlier charge, and the filing did not explain why. The new aggravated battery case now centers on the injury to the teen and the events near the boardwalk on Feb. 14.
For the Clarke family, the night is now marked by the contrast between what they came to Daytona Beach to do and what happened within seconds on a crowded weekend. They said they were in town for the Daytona 500 festivities and expected a loud, busy, but safe environment filled with visitors. Instead, they said they watched their son bleed from the neck in public, surrounded by strangers, as they tried to get help and keep him calm. Lori Clarke said the speed of the attack left her shaken even after the initial emergency passed.
Despite the trauma, the family said the teen still wanted to go to the race the next day. They later returned home to Delray Beach, where they said they are focused on his recovery and on supporting him through the fear that followed the injury. Jerod Clarke said the family is grateful the wound was not fatal and is trying to help their son feel safe again. The parents said the boy’s physical recovery is only part of what comes next, as he also processes how a routine walk turned into a violent encounter.
The attack also arrives as Daytona Beach officials face persistent complaints from residents and business owners about disorder and crime near the beachside tourist district. In recent public discussions, city leaders and the police department have outlined plans to increase the uniformed presence in the boardwalk area. Chief Jakari Young has said the department expects new recruits to complete training by April, allowing officers to be assigned close to around-the-clock patrols along the boardwalk corridor and nearby businesses.
Business owners have described repeated issues with aggressive panhandling and confrontations that they say can spill onto storefronts and sidewalks during peak visitor periods. A local redevelopment advisory board has discussed the costs and limits of private security versus additional public patrols, and whether a satellite police office near the beachside hotels could improve response times. Officials have framed the plan as a return to a dedicated boardwalk unit that once existed and was reduced when staffing levels dropped.
In the Clarke case, police were able to detain a suspect quickly, but the suddenness of the attack has raised questions that remain unanswered. Investigators have not publicly identified a motive, and authorities have not said whether the suspect and victim had any prior contact. Police have also not described the exact weapon used beyond references to an edged weapon, and they have not provided details about where it was recovered, if it was recovered at all, or whether additional charges could be considered as the investigation continues.
A worker in the area, Andrew Walker, told local media he was stunned when he saw the suspect being led away in handcuffs because he said he had spoken with the man minutes earlier and saw nothing that suggested violence was about to happen. The Clarke family said that kind of unpredictability is what makes the incident hard to accept. They said they were doing what many families do during major event weekends: walking together, staying close, and enjoying the crowds.
Long’s case is expected to move next through first appearance and bond review procedures typical for felony arrests in Volusia County, with prosecutors evaluating charging documents and evidence gathered by Daytona Beach police. Court records will determine the next scheduled hearing dates, and the state attorney’s office will decide whether to file additional counts or keep the case limited to the single aggravated battery charge. The teen’s family said they plan to cooperate fully and want the case handled quickly.
As of Tuesday, the family said the teen was back home and healing, and the suspect remained jailed as the investigation and court process continued. The next major milestone is Long’s next court hearing date in Volusia County, where a judge will address the status of the charge and any custody conditions.
Author note: Last updated February 17, 2026.